Briquet machinery.



T. B. WILCOX.

BRIQUET MACHINERY. APPLICATION FILED snPT.z.1ao4.

PATBNTED AUG. 21, 1906.

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N0. 829,044. PATENTBD AUG. 21, 1906.

T. B. WILGOX.

BRIQUET MACHINERY.

APPLIUAToN FILED SEPT. 2,1904.

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PATENTBD 11119.21, 190s.

T. B. WILGOX.

BRI T MACHINERY. uur

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N FILED SEPT. 2.1904.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE B. WILCOX, 0E NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE'- FURTH TO HIMSELF, AND THREE-FOURTHS TO GEORGE W. IVIORGABLA Ja, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

BRIQUET MACHINERY- Nc. ssamm..

Specca'ton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1906;

To all whom llt 711,04/ concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDoRE BWILooX, acitizen of the United States, and aresident 0f Newark, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Briquet Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements 1n machines for making briquets, tablets, or similar shapes, whatever the matcrial may be which 1s to be formed into the desired shape.

The invention is applicable to the compression of coaldust into briquets with the use of a suitable binder or it may be applied to the compression of iron ores or other minera-l ores in a finely-divided state. In such casesa binder, either dry or wet, will generally be used to complete the operation and to hold the shapes that are formed by the machine. The machine can. also be utilized to form medical capsules or tablets, and it is also adapted to other uses, such as will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

For convenience I show and describe the machine as being applied to the formation of briquets made of finely-dividedV coal with a suitable binder. Any suitable binder may be employed to assist in the formation and maintenance of the shapes.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine adapted for the purpose mentioned. Eig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detail views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the base of the machine, the same being supported upon suitable standards or uprights 2 2. Upon the base 1 is supported a frame 3, connected to the base by means of standards 4 4. The base 1 supports suitable journals 5 5, in which are mounted shafts 6, 7,. 8, 9, 10, and 11. The shaft 6 may be taken as the driving-shaft of the machine, and on it is secured a sprocket-Wheel 12, which is connected by a sprocket-chain 13 with a similar s rocket- Wheel 14 on the shaft 11. The sha t 6 also carries a gear-wheel 15, which engages with. a pinion 16 on the shaft 7. The said pinion in turn engages with a gear-wheel 17 on the shaft 8, while the last-named gear-wheel engages with a corresponding gear-wheel 18 on a shaft 19, mounted in a journal`20 on the frame 3. At the opposite cnd of themachine the shaft 11 carrles a gear-wheel 21, en-

aging with a pinion 22 on the shaft 10, the atter enga ing with a geanwheel 23 on the shaft 9. e gear-wheel 23 engages with a corresponding gear-wheel 24 on a shaft 25, mounted in a journal 26 on the frame 3.

It will be understood that when power from any suitable source is applied to the shaft 6 and the said shaft is rotated. the s rocket-wheel 12 will be moved with the siaft and will, through the medium of the sprocket chain 13, actuate the sprocket- Wheel 14 and the shaft 11. At the same time the movement of the shafts 6 and 11 will operate, respectively, the gear-wheels 15 and 21, thereby setting in operation the system of gears represented at one end of the machine by the pinion 16 and the ear-wheels 17 and 18 and at the other end 0I the machine by the pinion 22 and the gear-wheels 23 and 24.

The system of gearing herein described and shown is simply typical of a gearing that is suitable for the urpose of this invention. It would be entire y within the scope of the invention to turn the gear-Wheels 18 and 24 by an intermediate gear or set of gears so as to accomplish the same result. The sprocketchain 13 is made in the usual way; but at each pivot of the s rocketfchain I arrange a die 3() of the form s iown in Figs. 6 and 7. It will be seen that the edges of these dies are beveled, so that when the dies are brought to the ends of the machine where the chain bends upon the sprocket-wheels they have sufficient play to pass around the Wheels Without binding on each other.

Between four of the )osts 4 4 I mount a table 27, the upper sur ace of which is flat and which is rigidly supported in position. The sprocket-cl'iain, together with the dies carried thereby, asses over the table 27 and is moved along t e upper surface thereof b the driving mechanism already describe Near one end of the machine I arrange a hopper 31, communicating with a feed-pipe 32, through which the material which 1s to be formed into the desired shapes is initially carried. The material may be dry or it may be 1n a lastic or viscous state, being provided with a suitable binder, as set forth above. The material falls by gravity to the bottom of the hopper and is there affected. by a paddle or wiper 33, which rotates with the hopper 31 on a shaft 34. The said shaft 34 may be driven through the medium of a gear-wheel 35 or any suitable means from a source of power which is not shown in the drawings.

On the shaft 25 is mounted a drum or sleeve 3b', into which project rods 37 37, which rods are connected or formed. in one piece with heads 4() 40, as shown. Springs 39 39 are connected at corresponding ends to the heads 4() 40 and at their opposite ends to the drum or sleeve 36, the action of the springs being to draw the rods toward the axis of the drum or sleeve. The shaft 25 is rigid in its bearings, while the drum or sleeve rotates on the said shaft, its rotation being governed by the gear-wheel 24, to which the drum or sleeve is joined. As the gear-wheel 24 rotates it carries with it the drum 36 and also the foriners 40 40 and brings the said formers successively into contact with the material in the dies 3() 30, the gearing being i so timed that this action takes place. The upper ends of the openings in the dies are lared so as to admit the formers, and the gearing is so timed that Whenever the charge in a die comes under the center of the shaft 25 011e of the formers 4U will be pressed against the material and serve to compress it to a certain extent. The means for forcing the former into firm contact with the material are similar to those which will be described later on in connection With the mechanism surrounding the shaft 19.

It will be seen that the lower part of each opening in the die has arallel Walls or is circular 1n shape, While tllie up er end flares, as described. The material wi l be compressed between one of the formers 40 and the table 2T, this compression serving as the first act in forming the final briquet or other shape. On the shaft 19 a similar drum 41 is loosely mounted, and this is provided with similar rods, springs, and formers, all of which may be designated under the character 42. A similar condition exists at the shaft 8, where `spring-pressed formers 43 are provided as before ut whereas the ends of the formers 40 are flat the ends of the formers 42 and 43 are hollowed out, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Means for adjusting the sprin s will generally be used in connection Wit the ormers 40, 42, and 43.

Keyed to the shaft 19, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, is a sleeve 44, having a single camtooth 45 formed in one piece With it or attached to it. This eccentric, as the drum 41 rotates, engages with one after the other of the heads or formers 42 as the latter rotate into approximately the shape illustrated in.

Fig. 5. After being so formed it is carried forward by the n'iovement of the sprocketchain and is there brought into cooperation with an octagonal drum 46 on the shaft 6. rl`his drum is provided` with buttons or punchers 47, which are exactly in line with the openings in the dies 3U. Accordingly when t A1e material has been shaped as described the briquets are pushed out by the buttons 47 and may fall to the iloor or be collected in any suitable receptacle.

By suitably adjusting the springs connected with the heads or foriners 42 and 43 any desired amount of pressure can be applied to the material to be formed or shaped, and by virtue of the punching-out recess last described and the use of a sproc *et device carrying a lar 'e number of dies With openings side by sie the formation of briquets or other shapes can be made4 very rapid and the output of the machine correspondin ly great.

The nal shape given to the briquet by the formers 42 and 43 is such that the briquets do not stick in the die-openings, but can be pushed out readily by the buttons or punchers 47. This is a valuable feature of my invention. If desired, a table may be arranged under the sprocket-chain and dies at a point beyond that where the briquets are finally shaped, and this will prevent all dan er of the briquets falling out premature r.

In a divisional application filed March 7, 1905, Serial No. 248,322, claims are made upon certain of the features disclosed herein.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a machine of the character described traveling dies, means for charging the said dies, revolving disks or wheels on opposite sides of the ath of motion of the dies, formers carried )y the said revolving disks or Wheels, and cams brought into operation by the revolution of the said disks or wheels for pressing the said formers against the material in the dies from opposite sides.

2. In a machine of the character described, traveling dies, means for charging the said dies, revolving disks or Wheels on opposite sides of the ath of motion of the dies, formers carried y the said revolving disks or Wheels, and cams brought into operation by the revolution of the said disks or wheels for pressing the said formers against the mate- IDO rial in the dies from opposite sides, and means for ejecting the material formed under pressure.

3, In a rotary briquet-machine, a series of movable dies, means for charging the same, and formers cooperating with the dies and the charges therein, the formers being mounted in a rotating drum, means for moving the formers, consisting of a cam inside the drum, such means being brought into operation at the appropriate moment for pressing the formers against the charges.

4. In a rotary briquet-machine, a series of movable dies, means for charging the same, and formers cooperating with the dies and the charges therein, the formers being 1nount ed in a rotating drum, means for moving the formers, consisting of a cam inside the drum, such means being brought into operation at the appropriate moment for pressing the formers against the charges, and means for withdrawing the formers ultimately to their original position.

5. In a rotary briquet-machine, a series of movable dies, means for charging the same, and formers cooperating with the dies and the charges therein, the formers being mounted in a rotating drum, means for moving the formers, consisting of a cam inside the drum, such means being brought into operation at the appropriate moment for pressing the formers against the charges, and means for withdrawing the formers ultimately to their original position, the said means consisting of springs which relieve the shock of the return.

6. In a rotary briquet-machine, a series of movable dies, means for charging the same, a rotating drum, formers carried by the drum and cooperating with the dies and the charges therein, means for moving the formers consisting of a cam inside the drum, two or more separate drums provided with formera arranged to cooperate With the formers 1n the main drum, and means for bringing the cooperating formers into operation at appropriate moments.

7. In a rotary briquet-machine, a series of perforated traveling dies, means for charging the dies, drums on opposite sides of the dies, each drum carrying formers or lungers cooperating with the charges in t e dies and with each other, and stationary cams for pressing the formers against successive charges from opposite sides.

8. In a machine ofthe character described, a series of perforated traveling dies, means for charging the dies, a plurality of pairs of drums on opposite sides of the said dies, each drum carrying plungers cooperating with the charges in the dies and with each other, and stationar cams for pressing the formers against t e charges for producing successive compressions thereof.

9. In a machine of the character described, a series of perforated traveling dies, means for charging the dies, drums on opposite sides of the dies, each drum carrying formers or plungers cooperating with the dies, stationary cams for pressing the formers against the charge on opposite sides, the ends of the formers being so sha )ed as to remove the material of the charge irom the greater portion of the walls of the perforation whereby the inished product can be readily removed from the dies.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 27th day of August, A. D. 1904.

THEODORE B. WILCOX.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, GEORGE H. STocKBnIDGE. 

